US President Donald Trump summoned Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham leader Abu Mohammed al Jolani to Ankara and, through the US-Israeli war team meeting in Ankara, instructed him to launch a limited ground offensive against Lebanon. Al Jolani, however, made this conditional on the approval of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Al Jolani also complained to Trump that Saudi Arabia had not honoured its commitments over the past two years to provide him with financial support. He said that he did not have sufficient financial resources to launch a ground offensive against Lebanon, even if limited, and that doing so could result in him losing control of Damascus.

The multinational Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham assumed power in Damascus under a regional arrangement involving the United States, Turkey, Israel and Russia.